Eighty-two killed in overnight Baghdad bombings

The twin bombings that hit Baghdad around midnight Saturday has killed more than 82 people and left 200 injured.

“Nearly all of them were involved in the blast targeting a busy shopping area as they celebrated Ramadan”, police and medical sources said on Sunday.

A truck-refrigerator packed with explosives blew up in Karrada, killing 80 people and injuring at least 200. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, in a statement circulated online by supporters of the ultra-hard line Sunni group. It said the blast was a suicide bombing.

Karrada was busy at the time as Iraqis eat out late during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends next week.

A video posted on social media showed a large blaze in the main street of Karrada after the blast. Footage taken in the morning showed at least four buildings severely damaged or partly collapsed.

“A roadside explosive device also blew up around midnight in a market in al-Shaab, a popular Shi’ite district in the north of the capital, leaving at least two killed”, police and medical sources said.